Short answer: A pullet reaches point of lay when she is healthy, evenly grown and at the right weight for her strain, usually around 17 to 19 weeks for brown layers. Feed her by phase, weigh a sample of birds every week, keep her from getting fat, and follow your vet's vaccine schedule. The flocks that lay late usually fell behind between weeks 6 and 12, not in the final month.
Key takeaways
- Uniform birds reach lay on time. An average on target is not enough.
- Weigh 30 random birds every week and compare the average with your strain's chart.
- Change feed when the birds have finished the previous phase and their weights are on target.
- Keep rearing litter dry and drinkers off the floor, especially in the rains.
- Use the batch record as the starting point for your vet's vaccine plan.
What the box tells you before the chicks are out
Every box that leaves our hatchery carries 50 chicks, and your first job starts at the door, not in the house. Count the chicks while the driver is still there if you can. Look for chicks that are dry, standing and alert. A few sleepy birds in a corner are normal after a long road trip. A box with chicks crowded at one end and down pasted flat with wet is not normal.
Keep the batch record with the chicks. It lists which vaccines went into them at the hatchery and on what dates, and it is the first thing your vet will ask for. If anything is short or dead on arrival, count the dead, take a photo and send it to us on WhatsApp at +233 24 915 1503 the same day. Dead on arrival birds are replaced free in the next hatch, but that only works if you report it while the evidence is still in front of you.
Check the delivery route too. If your chicks came from a long trip, plan for a quiet first day with no handling and no vaccinations until the birds have drunk and eaten. For how collection and delivery work, see our delivery page.
Why rearing sets the date of the first egg
A commercial brown pullet takes roughly four months to reach point of lay. Genetics sets part of that clock, but the rearing decides whether she hits the window or drifts past it. A pullet that is light at 12 weeks rarely catches up by 18, however good the layer feed is later on.
Put the cost in plain numbers. If you start 100 Hy-Line Brown chicks, that is GH₵2,300 at our starting price of GH₵23 per chick, before housing, feed, labour and vaccines. Each week a flock sits without laying, you are paying for feed and space and getting no eggs back. Three weeks late on 100 birds is three weeks of feed and house for nothing. That is the cheapest loss you will see. The expensive one is a flock that starts at a low rate and never fully catches up to its peak.
Current starting prices are on our price page. They are confirmed in writing before you pay.
Weeks 0 to 6: brooding is where birds are lost
In the first week the brooder does two jobs. It keeps the chicks warm, and it lets them find feed and water fast. Light the heat source before the chicks arrive, and check the floor with your hand before you let them in. If the chicks pile up hard under the lamp, they are cold. If they scatter to the far edge and pant, they are too hot. You want them spread out evenly and moving about.
The major rains in the south run from April to July, and the damp nights bring wet litter. We see farmers lose the most chicks in these weeks when the litter caked around the drinkers and the brooder ran cold at three in the morning. Change litter before it turns sticky. Keep drinkers off the litter edge so water does not pool under them. Any chick not drinking within the first day should be found and dealt with that day.
By week 6 the birds should be feathering out, active and eating from the feeder without climbing over each other. Move them to the bigger house when that house is dry and the flock is even, not when the calendar says so.
Feed phases: what changes and why
Feed follows age and what the bird is building. Starter feed carries the most protein, because a chick is putting on muscle and feather fast. Grower feed steps the protein down so the bird can build frame and bone without laying down too much fat. Pre-lay feed raises the calcium ahead of the first shell, and it is the feed you should be switching to before the first egg, not after it.
Do not change feed because of one bad week. Change when the birds have eaten the previous phase for its full span and their weights are on target. If the flock is behind at week 12, look at feeder space, water flow and health before you blame the feed. Often the feed is fine and the birds are sick.
Switch the whole house on the same day. If you can, blend old and new feed over three to four days. A sudden switch knocks intake back, and you will see the result in the next weigh-in as a plateau that looks like a feed problem but started with the change.
The weekly weigh-in and the table that tells you if you are on track
Weighing is the only reliable way to know how a rearing flock is doing, and it costs almost nothing. Each week, pick 30 birds at random, weigh them at the same time of day on the same scale, add the weights up and divide by 30. Write the average in the flock record. Then look at the spread. A flock that averages on target but runs from very small to very large is not ready. You want most birds clustered tightly around the average.
Check the average against your strain's target chart. The breeder publishes weight charts for each strain, and the strain name is on your batch record. Use that chart, not one copied from a forum. The table below is a guide to what each checkpoint should tell you. For the exact weight targets, use the chart for your strain and ask your vet to confirm them.
| Week | What the flock should look like | What to do at the weigh-in |
|---|---|---|
| 6 | Feathered out, active, eating from the feeder | Confirm the move to the grower house and weigh 30 birds |
| 10 | Frame filling out, weights clustered together | Check the spread and pull stunted birds aside for a vet check |
| 12 | On the chart for the grower phase | Compare with the strain chart and review feed intake |
| 14 | Growth steady, no birds carrying extra fat | Cut back feed if the average runs above the chart for age |
| 16 | Lay house cleaned and rested | Pre-lay feed in stock and the switch day chosen |
| 18 | Close to point of lay, uniform | Weigh again and plan the move into the laying house |
Uniformity: the number people ignore
An average can lie. A house of 50 birds that averages on target but has ten runts and ten big hens is two flocks sharing one pen. The runts eat less, get pushed off the feeder and reach lay late. The big ones may start early, lay poorly and carry fat into the house.
When a farmer calls us about a rearing problem, the first question we ask is how far apart the lightest and heaviest birds are. The average comes second. Pull the smallest birds into a pen of their own for a vet check. Look for worms, mites, a crop problem, or a bird that simply never got to the feeder. Do not cull them on the spot. Give them two weeks of proper feed and water, then weigh them again.
An evenly grown flock is easier to vaccinate, easier to feed and easier to move. In our experience it is also the cheapest flock to raise, because the losses that eat your margin usually sit at the small end of the spread.
Vaccines: reading the batch record and planning the rest
The hatchery vaccinates against Marek's, Newcastle, Gumboro, infectious bronchitis and coccidiosis before the chicks leave us. That is the start of the programme, not the whole of it. The batch record tells you what was given and when, so you and your vet can plan the next steps from facts rather than memory.
Most rearing programmes add boosters later in the rearing period. Newcastle and infectious bronchitis boosters are commonly given during the grower phase and again before lay, in many programmes. The timing, the vaccine type and the route depend on your area, the disease pressure near your farm and your vet's judgement. Follow your vet's advice and your vet's schedule. For background on the two diseases most often at stake, read our notes on Newcastle disease prevention and Gumboro.
Copy the batch record into the flock file, then add each vaccine you actually give, with the date, the batch number and who gave it. When a dip appears at lay, that file is the first place you and your vet will look.
Need chicks for your next batch?
Send breed, number and town. We reply with price, hatch date and delivery cost in writing.
Rearing through the rains and the harmattan
The rearing house has two seasons to beat. In the rains, damp litter and humidity push up coccidiosis and wet-floor problems. Lift drinkers onto trays or raise them so they do not soak the floor. Replace wet litter around the drinkers rather than hoping it dries. Coccidiosis is the one to watch from about week three, and our notes on coccidiosis in chickens explain the signs to look for.
The harmattan runs from December to February and brings fine dust down from the north. Dust is hard on young airways, and it hides the early signs of respiratory trouble. Sweep lightly rather than dry-brooming, keep feeders off the bare floor, and keep the house as dust-free as you can. The cold comes at night, so close the curtains at dusk and open them again after sunrise.
Ventilate at bird height without making drafts. Open sides with sheltered curtains work well in the Kasoa area, but the curtains need to be adjusted with the weather rather than left the same all year.
Five mistakes that push first eggs back
- Moving birds on the calendar, not on weight. The date on the wall says week 18. The flock may be two weeks behind, and it will lay late in the new house.
- Letting birds get fat between weeks 12 and 16. Overfed pullets carry fat into the laying house, and fat birds lay less consistently.
- Adding light too early. Long days before the bird is ready can bring her into lay before her body can support a good egg. Keep day length steady and follow the plan in our lighting program for layers.
- Skipping the weigh-in because the birds look fine. Birds that look fine can still be a week behind. The scale tells you what your eyes cannot.
- Treating every sick bird the same way. A bird that is stunted, dull and wet around the vent needs a diagnosis. Guessing with a product from the shop wastes money and delays the vet.
Checklist before the pullets move to the laying house
- Average weight is on the strain chart, and most birds sit in a tight band around it.
- Vaccine dates, batch numbers and the vet's advice are written in the flock file.
- The laying house is cleaned, disinfected and rested, with dry litter laid.
- Nest boxes are in place and the litter in them is clean.
- Pre-lay feed is in stock and the switch day is chosen.
- The lighting timetable is written down and will not change suddenly.
- Feeders and drinkers are counted against the number of birds, and the far end of each drinker line runs.
- Stunted or unwell birds have been treated or culled on your vet's advice.
Where to start if you are buying chicks now
Starting a brown flock this season? Hy-Line Brown chicks list at GH₵23 each. Boxes of 50 leave the hatchery the day they hatch, and the batch record travels in the box. If you are not sure which layer suits your market and your house, our layer day-old chick page lays out the options, and the breeds page compares them side by side.
Send us your target laying month on WhatsApp at +233 24 915 1503 and we will count the dates back with you, or place your order through the order form. Orders of 1,000 or more are quoted individually. You can collect at the farm in Opeikuma, or we can deliver to all 16 regions, and the delivery cost is confirmed before you pay. If you want a second opinion on your rearing plan, our questions page covers the things farmers ask us most.
Questions farmers ask
How long does it take to raise a pullet to point of lay?
Most commercial brown strains reach point of lay somewhere around 17 to 19 weeks, which is roughly four months from the day they hatch. The exact age depends on the strain, the feed and the environment. Birds that were stressed, underweight or kept too warm can take longer. Weigh the flock weekly against the strain chart. If the flock is still not laying at 20 weeks and the weights are on target, talk to your vet and check your lighting plan.
What weight should a pullet be before she goes into the layer house?
There is no single weight that fits every strain, so use the target chart for your breed. A more useful test is uniformity. If the average is on target and most birds sit within a narrow band around it, the flock is ready. If the spread is wide, wait and fix the smallest birds first. Do not move a flock on the calendar alone.
Why are some of my pullets much bigger than the others?
Uneven growth usually starts with competition at the feeder rather than with the breed. Dominant birds get the feed, weaker birds get pushed off, and the gap widens every week. Add feeder space, spread feed across more points, and check the drinkers. Pull out birds that look stunted or unwell, and have a vet look at them before you decide what to do.
Do I need to add light to young pullets?
Not before your lighting plan says so. Long days early can push a bird into lay before her body is ready, which often gives small, soft or irregular eggs. Keep day length steady during rearing and follow the lighting programme for the house. Changing light to hurry a flock almost always costs more than it saves.
Is it a problem if my pullets are getting fat?
It can be. Overfed pullets carry fat into the laying house, and that can lower lay rate and cause problems later. Weigh them weekly and cut back the feed if the average runs above the strain target for their age. Do not starve them. Feed to the chart, and check the feeder for a few greedy birds eating far more than their share.
Which vaccines do my pullets need after they leave the hatchery?
The hatchery vaccinates against Marek's, Newcastle, Gumboro, infectious bronchitis and coccidiosis, and the batch record shows what was given and when. Boosters later in rearing depend on your area, the disease pressure around you and your vet's schedule. Follow your vet's advice and keep every date in your flock record.
What should I do if my pullets are behind on weight at 12 weeks?
Start with the basics: feeder space, water flow, litter and any signs of illness. Check that the feed phase changed on time. If the birds are dull, dirty around the vent or losing weight, call your vet. Do not pour in extra feed to catch up. Weigh again in a week and read the trend, not a single reading.
